Samuelsson spoke with CBS News correspondent Bigad Shaban about Volvo's plan to test 100 self-driving cars on Swedish roads in 2017. Samuelsson said he hopes to begin selling those cars to the public by 2020. He also reiterated his company's pledge that Volvo cars will be so safe by then that no one will be killed or seriously injured in one.

"It's not just enough with seatbelts and airbags, you have to also design cars that will not crash," Samuelsson said.

"Does autonomous driving help you get to that level of safety?" Shaban asked.

"Absolutely," Samuelsson replied.

Vehicles already on the road help drivers brake, park, and even change lanes to avoid accidents. Some will soon offer features that identify hidden bikers or pedestrians. But the auto industry is still facing some serious road blocks for cars that drive themselves.

Brendan Flynn is one of the organizers of the Los Angeles Auto Show and says current laws and regulations do not address issues like who should be at fault when a self-driving car is in an accident.

"Am I at fault?" he wondered. "I wasn't in control. Is the person who made the technology at fault? Is it the company who provided the software that connected me to the maps that took me down the street, are they at fault?"

Flynn also voiced concerns about cyber security.

"Now that the car is connected on a bunch of data points, what's going to happen the minute my phone syncs up?" he questioned. "We have had people hack cars, and stop them, start them, and take over the steering. Not to be alarmist, but there's a lot of things that need to be thought through, and a majority of those things haven't even been thought of yet."

Samuelsson says these and other questions will need answers before drivers can take their hands completely off the wheel.

"I think this is an area that has to be sorted out, and I think it's neglected today."